Not now darling, I’m playing with my phone

Picture the scene. The cosy dinner for two is finished, the bottle of Rioja has been demolished and you’re both nicely tucked between the sheets only to have your partner turn and say, “not now darling I’m playing with my iPhone.”

Don’t think it happens. Think again. A recent survey has revealed the average person spends nearly an hour playing with technology in bed. And the biggest potential passion killer of them all is the iPhone with nearly 70% of the people surveyed admitting to using them at bed time.

The survey was performed by LaptopsDirect and it found that the worst bedtime tech addicts were 18 to 24 year olds.

But it’s not just the iPhone causing all the bedroom distractions. Nearly a third of the bed time-means-tech-time enthusiasts watched TV while 20% would be using tablets before snoozing and nearly 10% would actually be playing on games consoles.

Organisers of the survey LaptopsDirect rightly concluded that whereas gadgets are great fun they can be disruptive when it comes to sleep patterns. Interestingly, 22% of people questioned used some form of technology to monitor their quality of sleep.

But putting aside the potential libido-wilting issues of bedtime tech-fests there are some serious health issues to consider regarding the effect that techno blue light can have on circadian rhythms.

Blue light is part of the complete light spectrum which means natural exposure to the sun provides us with a normal healthy amount. The problem occurs at night when we use phones, laptops, pads and TVs, in fact pretty much anything with an LED-based screen.

Blue light is emitted from these at very high levels and in addition to potentially causing eye damage it upsets circadian body timing that in turn suppresses the body’s production of the hormone melatonin which is produced by various tissues in the body with the major source being the pineal gland in the brain. The results are difficulty in sleeping which can lead to serious health issues. Medical advice is crystal clear when it comes to this problem – leave technology outside the bedroom.

By Paul Whytock

Paul Whytock is European Editor for Electropages. He has reported extensively on the electronics industry in Europe, the United States and the Far East for over twenty years. Prior to entering journalism he worked as a design engineer with Ford Motor Company at locations in England, Germany, Holland and Belgium.